The head of a group that represents jet users in the Lower Mainland is calling for calm to prevail after a brutal incident caught on camera on the River Vedder on Sunday.
Chilliwack RCMP have launched an investigation after a man who was fishing from the riverbank was severely beaten by three men who sped off in a boat near the area of Lumsden Road.
Read more: Angler beating caught on video sparks Chilliwack RCMP investigation
Witnesses told Global News that fishermen on the shore had previously shouted at the boat to slow down.
“It makes me sad,” said Rocky McIntyre, president of the Fraser Valley Jet Boat Association.
“We started this group to remember our friend Alan who died when he was in his jet boat and it capsized…the fact that our community is just tarnished and torn apart, it just hurts to watch. I just want us all to get along and I want there to be respect among all user groups.”
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0:47 Chilliwack RCMP investigate angler beating caught on video Chilliwack RCMP investigate angler beating caught on video
McIntyre said he could not speak to the specifics of what happened Sunday, but that there has long been friction between anglers and jet boats on the river that may have reached a “boiling point.”
He claimed it was not unusual for fishermen on the shore to curse or throw stones at people sailing upriver and said someone had broken the window of his own boat with a stone thrown.
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“It’s not illegal to run these jets on the river — it’s illegal to harass people who are fishing, and it’s illegal to harass people who are boating,” he said.
Read more: ATV activity near critical Fraser River fish habitat worries conservationists
“Everyone’s behavior needs to change, we need to be able to get along together as a community.”
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McIntyre acknowledged that regulations require boaters to maintain 10 km/h when less than 30 meters from shore, and said it was a rule his group members took seriously.
Tixweeltel Kelsey Charlie, a councilor from the Sts’Ailes First Nation, through whose territory the river runs, said there have been concerns for some time about potential conflicts along the river.
2:11 Concerns about possible destruction of fish habitat in the Fraser River Concerns about possible destruction of fish habitats in the Fraser River – February 7, 2021
“A disaster or a tragedy is inevitable because there’s so much traffic and atrocities that happen on this little river, exactly the same scenario — someone jets by and people just stand there and it’s feet away from each other,” he said.
“Of course there are tensions that will rise because some people are in the boat and feel like they have the right to ride here and there, other guys on the beech and feel like they have to do what they have to do. So I really feel like something is going to happen.
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Read more: Conservationists monitor ‘Heart of Fraser’ in bid to save critical fish stocks
Charlie said the nation is looking at mitigation measures it can put on the river for the safety of not only boaters and anglers, but also families and children who use the area for picnicking and swimming.
The victim of the beating was treated in hospital for a concussion and fractures to his nose and cheek and has now been released.
Chilliwack RCMP say they have received several tips about who may have been involved and are trying to figure out what led up to the attack.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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